PORT
ORCHARD, WA—This month, the Kitsap County Assessor’s Office
debuts a new Personal Property Online Filing System, accessible through
the county web site. The system will enable business owners to submit
personal property filings online instead of through the mail.

Businesses are required to report the purchase prices of all their equipment
every year. Updated listings are due to the Assessor annually by April 30 so
that market values can be calculated and property taxes applied for the
following year.

The online system will be more convenient and efficient for both taxpayers
and the county, reducing cost and paperwork. Taxpayers will be able to
access and update their information by logging in to the secure Personal
Property Online Filing System. The Assessor’s Office will then be able to
review the electronically submitted information and easily update their
database.

“I’m pretty sure we will be the first municipality in Washington State to
achieve this major breakthrough,” said Jim Avery, County Assessor.
“Taxpayers benefit from using a simple, Web-based process, and we save a
whole lot of processing time in updating our database.”

Online filing was made possible in 2004 when the legislature allowed
assessors to accept unsigned personal property listings. The Assessor’s
Office and Kitsap County Information Services have been developing the
Personal Property Online Filing System for the past year.

To contact the Kitsap County Public
Information Office,
call PJ Callahan at 360-337-4481 or
email: pjramos@co.kitsap.wa.us